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Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.

The theft was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the interior.

The half-dozen taken sculptures were marble creations and traced back to the Roman era, one official informed the news agency.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to determine the "details surrounding the loss of a collection of artifacts", and that actions had been implemented to enhance safeguarding and observation methods.

The director of internal security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as stating that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and unique items".

He added that security personnel at the facility and additional people were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, houses the significant cultural treasures in the country.

It features clay cuneiform tablets originating to the ancient era from Ugarit, where indications of the earliest writing system was found; Greco-Roman period classical statues from the ancient city, one of the most important cultural centres of the historical period; and a ancient religious building that was established at an ancient location.

The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, one year after the beginning of the internal strife. A large portion of the holdings was evacuated and preserved at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It reopened partially in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, a month after opposition groups overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.

All six of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.

The militant faction destroyed several religious structures and additional edifices at Palmyra, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the damage as a violation.

Many historical objects were also damaged or taken from dig sites and cultural institutions.